Harlan County U.S.A.

This is a movie about a coal miner's strike in the 1970s. No reason I'm watching this today... no sir, no reason at all.

I guess it just goes to show how struggles with the cost of living aren't anything new, and this documentary does a great job of dispelling the idea that everyday people are greedy and want excessive amounts of money. I think most people are underpaid, and people just want the kind of compensation that will lower the stress of life. Bosses and people in charge always seem to hoard money. If this is the way things have to be run, then people who do hard work (and a lot of it) should be appropriately compensated. It's just a shame that some people view protests like this as radical or excessive, and I think a documentary like Harlan County USA could help change minds and attitudes.

Look, it's overall a very good documentary. The simple, natural style works. It's persuasive. Unions are good. I can't fault this stuff.

But this genuinely has one of the worst soundtracks I've ever heard, so uh, I'm sorry... points off for that (the god-awful music just never stops either).

...'cause there's one man dead on the Harlan County line'.

This is a powerful Oscar-winning documentary produced and directed by Barbara Kopple ('American Dream', 'Wild Man Blues'). It focuses on the men at the Brookside Mine in Harlan, Kentucky who, in the summer of 1973, voted to join the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). Duke Power Company and its subsidiary, Eastover Mining Company, refused to sign the contract. The miners came out on a long strike, registered by Kopple with testimonies, backstories, archival footage, and music, particularly that of Hazel Dickens during the final credits.

The film's main strength resides in the sincerity of its emotional, political and sociological core without being overtly sentimental, and Kopple's way of testifying instead of exploiting the subjects. The miners and their wives are not depicted in old hillbilly stereotypes, but rather as hard-working human beings fighting for their basic rights ('together we stand, divided we fall').

Thirty years after the release of this documentary, five miners died in an explosion at Harlan County. When the film was shot, money was the bigger issue (industry profits rose 170% in 1975, but miner's wages rose only 4%); nowadays, however, safety is an even bigger issue. You'd think things would have been largely improved since then, but that's not really the case. 'Harlan County U.S.A.' is a remarkable documentary because it testifies and proposes solutions about a public struggle that shouldn't be overlooked, yet has been for such a long time, in the "land of the free and home of the brave".

This film is wonderful. It is horrible and sad and gripping but wonderful. I am by no means pro union, but this is a perfect example of why they need to exist as an option.

I can't believe it was so recently that companies were hiring brutal men to terrorize their workers over money.

The movie is set in Harlan County, and there is not much to say but that you are watching history unfold, with all of it's rage and fire, and bloodshed, tears and strength.

Nothing is hidden and it is very powerful. People willing to die for what they believe in, it is very eye opening. The people were real, fearless, and their struggle raw.

There are real villains here, the gun toting hired thugs, and the company who seems OK with the way things are handled. Murdering poor people over a few cents and common sense benefits. Sad.

The most poignant memory of the film for me was how they tricked a truly injured man into coming back to the work site so that they could deny him worker's comp. Quite shocking.

The clarity and portrayal in Harlan County of the hideous strikes makes the audience feel involved. Surrounded by beautiful nature and hollows, poverty and living conditions flip the picture. In this particular film by Barbara Kopple, her crew follows around the coal miners and their families around the clock. There is not anytime of day where a song is being sung or gun shots are being fired not caught on camera. Kopple's depiction of women and use of sound makes this documentary distinct for its time. In the mid 60's, civil rights and liberties was a huge issue. Eventually the Civil Rights Act of 1963 was passed and America was slowly evolving into a new nation. During the strikes in Harlan Country, women played a big role to help and on screen. Kopple dedicated a good amount of footage to the emergence of women taking a stand and being strong. Around the time of this strike, women were not portrayed as they were on screen thorough the documentary. In one particular picket stand, a car was rolled in the middle of a main road surrounded by women protesting. The sheriff told them repeatedly to clear the road, but they did not move an inch. The women organization during the strike did not become vulnerable once presenting a new image. By the camera shooting close-ups of women's faces during their meetings and protests, the audience can really feel the power and anger they had alone. As the documentary unfolds, the use of music played a major role. Through out the whole presentation, the songs heard described key events that took place during the strike. When studies were shown how black dust from coal kills your lungs, many small scenes showed the coal miners having trouble breathing. During this segment, a depressing song about black dust accompanied each powerful image. Many involved during these hard times composed songs of their feelings and emotions which Kopple caught on screen and included in many shots. The documentary starts the film with an elderly man singing a slow depressing song setting the harsh tone. By the end of the documentary, songs of victory and happiness accompany the images. Including the songs throughout the whole film gave the images more to express to the audience through the journey. Kopple's documentary gives viewers a front row seat of the horrible atrocities during the Harlan County strike. The camera can only speak so many words. Approaching this event as a documentary including powerful music makes the camera and film process complete.

This movie is a must-see for fans of socially active documentary film, or for those interested in the American labor movement.

It sometimes loses momentum as it documents the details of a particular labor strike in a mining town in rural Kentucky; yet that particular strike yields many memorable moments, including flashes of violence and revelatory dialogue. The company men are deliciously slick and slimy, and their goons are so ornery, that it's easy to forget that these people are real!

Where this film is at its best is where it uses historical footage and traditional labor songs to tie the strike to the larger past, and also where it explores other details of these people's lives -health issues, living conditions- that aren't specific to the strike. In this sense, the film becomes an important historical document of its own accord; unique, compelling, and enlightening to future generations.